I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted, but after this post you will see how busy I have been!
Sunday, April 17th was Palm Sunday. For Catholics this is the beginning of Holy Week, the week that includes the Last Supper and the Crucifixion and ends with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Spain the entire week is a national holiday. Vacations begin on Thursday, the day of the Last Supper. The festivities, however, begin on Palm Sunday. Everyday, twice a day there are huge processions from the Basilica, through the Barrio, down the Rambla to the Explanada. These processions encompass hundreds of people representing their different parishes. They also go extremely slowly. One of the processions started at 8pm and didn't finish until 11pm, and it's not a huge distance; I can walk the procession route in about 10 minutes or less.
One of the biggest part of the processions are the Nazarenos. These members of the parish volunteer to participate. They dress themselves in long robes with tall hoods, very much resembling the KKK. (A very big part of me was afraid of them, despite the fact that I know that they are not affiliated with the KKK) The Nazarenos are not allowed to speak to anyone, but they hand out caramelos, or hard candies, to the people in the crowd.
Another part of the procession is the Pasos, these are huge "floats" that have representations of the Virgin Mary or of Christ. These pasos weigh hundreds to thousands of pounds and are carried by a crew of people. Sometimes they are underneath it and shrouded by a curtain so you can only see their feet, but others stand around it carrying it on one shoulder. It's incredible!
Here are a few photos from one of the processions I saw on Good Friday.
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| The Nazarenos |
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| A baby Nazareno |
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| The Mourners |
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| A paso of the Virgin |
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| A paso of the buried Christ |
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